Why the idea of happiness index is relevant to organizations

Bhutan is a country famous for its scenic beauty, perched as it is on the eastern edge of the Himalayas. But aside from the lush rivers and the snow capped mountains and the verdant pastures, one other thing is also worth admiring about the small Buddhist kingdom- the idea of Gross National Happiness Index.

The term was first coined by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan’s fourth king way back in 1972. In fact, he said that gross national happiness is even more important for a country than gross domestic product- the primary indicator based on which a nation’s success is determined.

The country went one step further and instituted gross national happiness as among the government’s goals in the nation’s Constitution in 2008.

Happiness is levitation of the mind

Link between happiness & productivity

The idea of a happiness index is not just relevant to nations. Seeking happiness, after all, is a very human thing to do. Indeed, you could say that the bulk of our actions that guide our day to day life constitutes either actions to derive happiness from or those which we perform to minimise sadness- the opposite of happiness.

But for individual happiness to thrive, a person should be happy in the different arenas that he or she functions in. And this obviously involves the workplace as well- after all, it’s where we spend the bulk of our waking hours most of the days.

On the flipside, happy employees are also better workers. A University of Warwickstudy shows that the happy employees are more productive by 12 percent compared to unhappy employees.

Surely, that’s reason enough for any leader to take the necessary actions to ensure a culture of happiness inside the organization?

Fostering a culture of happiness in organizations

In an organization, employe happiness is inextricably linked to how confident they feel about the organization’s future prospects and how secure they feel in their own roles. In fact, the more they have a contributing role to play in realizing that future, the happier they would be; provided that the future in question is something that they completely buy in.

And this is where many companies fumble.

The conventional method of hiring employees involves getting people with particular skills that would be suitable for a particular project. The project itself is often a means to and end- a stepping stone towards achieving higher growth.

But the employee’s contribution to the project would depend not just on the level of his or her skills but also on how inspired they feel about the goal which they, or their team are working towards.

Compelling Shared Vision

Put simply, Compelling Shared Vision is the shared goal towards which a whole team moves. AS opposed to goals and targets that are imposed on teams by managers and leaders,Compelling Shared Vision is something that evolves from amongst the team members themselves.

As anyone who has observed human behaviour even passively could say, such goals are always more compelling than the ones that someone is meant to follow just because it’s part of your job.

The pursuit of Compelling Shared Vision, then, is not only organic but also promotes better employee happiness. And as mentioned before, happy employees are more productive employees- and productivity, more often than not is the holy grail which managers chase after.

So, then, how do you help teams discover their Compelling Shared Vision?

Temenos Vision Lab

Temenos Vision Lab or TVL is a unique session developed by Temenos+Agility that helps teams discover their Compelling Shared Vision. Using proprietary tools, some of the best transformation coaches in business help teams in this endeavor.

In the process, team members also come to a better understanding of their own strengths and weak points. They are then encouraged to move forward by losing the weak points and valuing their strong points.

But perhaps the most important of all is the fact that team members get to share their values and personal aspirations with each other. This in turn leads to better team bonding.

From the manager’s point of view, what this means is that the team members come out more confident, with better understanding of his or her colleagues, and with a clear objective- the compelling shared vision- in mind.

Combined, these aspects translate to happy employees. And the happier the workplace, the more meaningful and productive the work.